Finally, Google DevFest is coming to Kuala Lumpur! Happening on the 16th of July 2010, DevFest is set to rock your socks with technical sessions conducted by engineers from Mountain View, California. The objective here is to engage Malaysian developers with the latest best practices & techniques from the visiting Googlers. Come and join in the fun! You can register yourself here.

OK, what’s all this report card shit? Trying to be cool?

Not intentionally. It’s more like a personal note of what has been achieved so far. Disasters and small wins, those are my achievements. I’m kinda weird, in a sense where I measure myself by everything I do. I’m not entirely an angel.

So here goes…

Happy birthday GTUG Kuala Lumpur!

It’s already been a year, and I can tell you personally it’s been a tiring (physically) but a satisfying journey. GTUG KL has been moving to make things happen. Let’s go by bullet points:

• I had some funny moments organizing the Google Wave hackathons. We had our early bird invites late, and the 2nd round of hackathon turn up wasn’t that good. But the moments with fellow devs was awesome.
• I was invited to speak at Singapore GTUG about my wave robot, GuaRockYou. Instead, I flipped past my creation and went on babbling about other Malaysian’s cool Wave gadgets & extensions. I was sweating & was pretty sure the crowd was like “What the f***?” Haha.
• I used my position as a community manager and learned to be provocative & vocal about the plights of developers in the industry. Some called me “drama”. You know how subversive Johnny Drama is in Entourage? If you don’t get my analogy, then you don’t get me quite right yet ;)
• We have organised about 10 events so far, with an average of 25 attendees per session for the past 12 months. Aside from the 10 events, we’ve organised an OpenSocial hackathon during Barcamp KL and a session with Christine Songco at Barcamp Melaka in 2009. Other than that, we co-organised technical tracks together with CodeAndroid Malaysia at Barcamp KL 2010 and FOSS.my 2009. I took 2 months off to take some hot air out after quitting my last job. It was a power packed year with switching here and there between interests. Crazy penat.
• I stepped on dog poo on the way to Barcamp Melaka. It was a smelly roadtrip! Hahaha
• Other than that, I personally won 2 developer contests organised by Google & Yahoo! in 2009. With hopes to make a mark. I think.

I learned so many things about Malaysia’s technology industry and how it affect developers. Before I continue, don’t take it the wrong way, ok?

• Malaysian tech ecosystem is too much about glory and money. I am very sure it’s not everyone, but enough of them around to pollute the environment. Enough to influence the mindsets of talented, power-packed developers. Enough to ruin their morale and motivation. Enough to drive them away. Enough to discourage innovation for the right reasons. More than enough to encourage “innovation” for the wrong ones. From what I’ve been thru in my career, I say “Fuck this!”.
• Developers are still treated like coolies. Rest assured that they are not. If you could only understand their potential, then you’ll see what it takes to be a Jedi. The Jedi way is to be a man, not the man. Treat developers with more respect. Insist I say.
• The industry is forgetting something: without developers, you have no business. Period.

To the developers, this I have to say.

• Stop fucking around please! Enough with the glory haul. Work together. Even though you personally hate each other.
• Be proud of your work. No matter how small your project is, be proud of it and let the world know. If there’s a problem, the world will let you know too.
• Start appreciating more of your life.

After all that, I’ve decided to focus on 1 area of Google technology for the next few years. Introducing CodeAndroid Malaysia.

It’s all about Andru!

Andru is our mascot. He was brought alive by our very own Android mad scientist. Here’s the team roster of CodeAndroid Malaysia:

• Marvin Lee, the editorial manager. He curate & manage publications published by CodeAndroid members and put it all together on our website & blog.
• Leong Hean Hong, the resident hacker. He developed the group’s 1st open source project, Antollroid, which is a toll calculator application for Android.
• Bernie Eng, the resident hacker. He’s the device guy. Has an eye for details. He developed the group’s 2nd open source project, KL Traffic Cam, which is a KL traffic camera application for Android.
• Yap Wen Jiun, the resident scientist. He’s the real deal. He developed several interesting home automation, Arduino & 3D applications for Android. You should’ve seen when he brought Andru to life at Barcamp KL. Muka happy gila!
• Nazrul, the mad community manager. Ask the team. It’s tough love baby!

This year, CodeAndroid Malaysia goes to MSC Open Source Conference (MOSC) 2010 with 2 sessions. It’s not 12 months  yet, and as a group we have a long way to go. As soon as the first baby tooth appears, I’ll let everyone know what’s up.

What’s next?

What else, keep on moving lah! I’ve got no reason to stop. My mission has always been to solve the “missing country between Thailand & Singapore” situation. Oh, it’s a real problem. A big fucking problem. It’s just so annoying. Who’s with me?

Last but not least, I’d like to say thank you to everyone in the community who supported me all the way. Thank you to my family & homeboys. Thank you to Jason, Vinny, Steph, Christine & other Googlers who I’ve met along the way. Thank you to the clique for understanding my ways of a Jedi.

Alhamdullillah, so far so good. I’m not worried too much now, because I have you to keep me grounded :)